


Hush Little Baby

by unknowableroom_archivist



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-01-06
Updated: 2007-01-06
Packaged: 2019-01-19 18:04:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 959
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12415194
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unknowableroom_archivist/pseuds/unknowableroom_archivist
Summary: As the War reaches its height, Lily tries to send her son to sleep. A sort of drabbly one-shot.





	Hush Little Baby

**Author's Note:**

> Note from ChristyCorr, the archivist: this story was originally archived at [Unknowable Room](http://fanlore.org/wiki/Unknowable_Room), a Harry Potter archive active from 2005-2016. To preserve the archive, I began manually importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project after May 2017. I e-mailed all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact me using the e-mail address on [Unknowable Room collection profile](http://www.archiveofourown.org/collections/unknowableroom).

_“Hush little baby, don’t say a word,_

_Momma’s gonna buy you a mocking-bird...”_

The wailing one year old boy in her arms quietened at the sound of his mother’s voice, subsiding to small sobs and hiccups as Lily held him in her arms and rubbed his back soothingly.

_“And if that mocking bird don’t sing,_

_Momma’s gonna by you a diamond ring...”_

Harry had been crying for roughly an hour now, and nothing Lily had tried previously had worked; it only seemed to make his cries louder. His small face was a patchwork of red and white, tears running down his face which his mother immediately wiped away as they trickled down the bridge of his nose. 

Those emerald green eyes; the only distinguishable feature he had inherited from Lily, were blood-shot and watery, and they looked upon his mother with an expression of indignance, as if asking her silently why she hadn’t thought of a lullaby before. 

_“And if that diamond ring turns to brass,_

_Momma’s gonna buy you a looking glass...”_

Lily herself didn’t look or feel her usual best. The wizarding world was caught in war, and this Summer marked what the Ministry were calling, 'The Half-Way Point,' the place where the fighting was at its height. Fighting in the Order, keeping a normal job- Healing- and running a home; all had taken its toll on her. 

_“And if that looking glass gets broke,_

_Momma’s gonna buy you a Billy goat...”_

But what was probably worrying her the most at nights now, what was striking fear into her heart when she thought about it, was the Prophecy.

A couple of lines that predicted the future for the now grizzling little boy that she rocked in her arms. And the words that had caused her and her husband to take up the decision to hide away so they could give their son a chance at escaping the fate that had a good chance of befalling him.

_“And if that Billy goat won’t pull,_

_Momma’s gonna buy you a cart and bull...”_

During the last few months temper’s had been running high all round, and baby Harry had picked up on that, becoming restless in sleep and waking up at all hours of the night. 

This being one of those times.

_“And if that cart and bull fall down,_

_You’ll still be the sweetest little baby in town.”_

His wide eyes stared at his mother as her brow furrowed in thought; reaching the end of her song. He let out an indistinguishable gurgle, which snapped Lily out of her revere. She smiled softly down at him and ran a hand through the mop of messy, jet-black hair that adorned his head.

_He looks so much like James..._ The young woman sighed gently, knowing that Harry would grow up exactly like his father, but hopefully, less arrogant. 

James wasn’t there tonight, he and Lily had argued- not for the first time- and he had gone to see Sirius, both of them leaving the argument unsolved.

He had left hours ago, and there was still no sign of his return. 

Perhaps a year or so ago when this had occurred, Lily wouldn’t have batted an eyelid. James was stubborn and proud, he would come back the next day, they would apologise with a flurry of passionate, heated kisses and all would be forgotten. 

But now they were both deeply involved in war Lily was worried for his safety, unsolved argument or not. She knew he was probably safe, but _probably_ didn’t really help anyone these days. 

The argument had been a petty one, but as usual, with both of them refusing to back down and admit defeat; it had turned nasty, waking Harry up. 

By the time Lily had calmed him down and sent him off to sleep, James had slammed the front door shut without saying a word, and with no inclination as to when he’d be back again.

By now, Harry was almost asleep, the crying taking whatever energy was left in him away. His eyes began to droop as though heavy weights were pressing down on them and Lily hummed gently another verse of the lullaby, laying him down in his crib and moving a strand of hair from his face as she did so.

The baby let out a yawn, opening his mouth wide before settling down, and Lily hoped as she kissed his forehead softly that he would sleep for the remainder of the night, and that he would always manage to find sleep in the dark and difficult times that lay ahead. 

She knew at least one of them deserved some sleep.

Staring down at her son, Lily was so lost in thought that she didn’t notice a third presence enter the room and cross the floor softly, only realising when a pair of arms wrapped themselves around her waist and a kiss was placed to her cheek. Lily smiled softly before leaning back into her husband’s arms. The couple apologised to each other without any need for words; as she knew they always would do. 

James momentarily released his wife to place a kiss on his son’s forehead, before taking Lily’s hand and leading her away from the crib softly, leaving their son to sleep soundly.

Neither of them noticed the sudden change in the wind that was rattling outside, or the fact that it had grown sharper and colder, signifying that Autumn was not too far away. Nor did they notice the strange smog that had begun to gather outside, unusual even for mid-Summer.

And they couldn’t have noticed the dim outline of a common sewer-rat as it scampered away from the house into the mist, returning to its Master once more. 


End file.
